dianahc

Doing well - last leg of our trip home today. Time to turn on the propane again!

Fortunately there was only one baseboard vent in the bedroom and it is just barely exposed when the slide is in.

OK, I’m glad that my skepticism was correct. Our old rig was a 30 amp gasser with only propane heat, and we never shut it off either. But it’s reassuring to get confirmation that we haven’t been stupid or illegal

Yup - I do know that the water heater (and fridge) can be run on propane/12V while driving, but without confirmation, I didn’t want to turn on the furnace. Odd that I couldn’t find that explained in the manual. We haven’t done much cold weather camping yet, and our first coach was a much more basic gasser - so even after 4.5 years, we’re still learning! Someone on another board suggested that driving with the propane tank on is illegal in some states and provinces? Other than in tunnels, is this true?

I would if the check valve from the water heater hadn’t crapped out on us several days ago. 😡 (Although it inexplicably worked this morning, and I didn’t have to shower in the public bathroom, so who knows!)

After finishing fueling, I checked exhaust pipes, and fiddled with the thermostat controls to figure out how to just turn on the rear furnace and voila! Comfy! Thanks!

Thanks everyone! I’ll wait until my chauffeur needs a potty break before turning it on. We have a full tank of propane and barely used any so far on this trip - the heat pump worked just fine just south of Gilroy, as it didn’t get much if at all below 40, but we’re going to need it tonight in Barstow. I doubt anything would have built a nest on the RV during the **** that is Phoenix in the summer, but I’ll check it at our next stop - oops, right now!

Dumbish question: we’re traveling home from a visit with our kids in CA, taking the inland route down I-5, through Bakersfield, the Tehachapis, stopping for the night in Barstow, then on to Phoenix tomorrow. We have a new-to-us 2007 Holiday Rambler Ambassador 40PDQ. Without editorializing about my choice to ride on the bed rather than the passenger seat (tailbone issues), how do we heat the bedroom while driving? It’s chilly outside and getting pretty cold back here. Do I have to turn on the generator and run the heat pump? It’s going to be below 40 if it’s not already. Or is it OK to use the propane furnace while driving? I’ve looked through the manual and didn’t see anything that explained it. Thanks!

2007 Holiday Rambler Ambassador 40PDQ. It’s our personal coach. I’m not a fan of spending the money, but I’m also not a fan of stuff not working when we’re traveling. And while my husband is an expert at home remodeling, his expertise is not in plumbing or electrical, and he’s recovering from radiation therapy, so he’s not as strong or mobile as he used to be. Until he further recovers, he needs to save his strength for driving us. The mobile tech who repaired the windshield was surprised the installer hadn’t used glue. The gaskets are 11 years old.

I’m thinking of having them look at the plumbing overall. The water system valves, the tank sensors (most don’t read remotely accurately), the R/O water system which I still don’t trust for water for my coffee or the cats (I just feel safer bringing bottled water and prefiltering through a Brita filter); the toilet ball valve, or possibly swapping out for a toilet that will work with a Toto washlet. Also, one of the tires seems to have a leaky/stuck valve stem; service the jacks; treat the seals and repair if necessary; have the roof looked at, including caulking; and have some surface repairs done (there’s a peeling patch of either clearcoat or paint on the rear, and SOMEBODY didn’t watch out for the orange tree branches on the left as he was making the left turn into a rather ample-sized space at our overnight stop in Bakersfield - we’ve got scratches all down the side of the rig). And the door is sticking again and needs to be adjusted - last year we almost go locked out and had to cancel an entire day’s visits waiting for a mobile locksmith. I’d love to have the vinyl tile and old carpeting removed and replaced with wood laminate too, but that might have to wait until next year, cost-wise. We got her a year ago and I want to get her serviced and fully up to snuff before our next trip, which may be a long one. And I don’t want another start to the trip like this one. Last February, the windshield cracked while we were stationary. We got it replaced, and had barely used it since then (it was used as an extra apartment for a while, but only a few miles from home). We set out for the 700 mile drive from the Phoenix area here to the Gilroy area, and as soon as we hit on the freeway, heard a terrible intermittent whistling that got worse. We pulled over at the rest stop west of Tonopaugh, and discovered the huge windshield was separated from the frame completely from the top and almost halfway down the sides. Long story somewhat shorter, I found a mobile tech to come from Quartzsite (under warranty, fortunately), who announced that the good news was he was not going to have to take the time to clean off the old glue, because (the bad news) there wasn’t any used when they installed it. !!! SMDH. He fixed it, we had to sit for a couple of hours to let the glue set before carefully driving to Quartzsite to spend the night, which made our trip take 3 days instead of 2, but that wasn’t a big deal. But it was stressful. I really like this coach, but she’s 11 years old, so (deferred by prior owner) maintenance issues need to be addressed.

The snowbirds are coming! We have a few months of being back home in AZ while hubby gets a hernia repaired, then hitting the road again in the spring, I hope. I’m thinking the coach might be spending some time in the shop during that downtime.

It’s all good - I turned the hot water on and off sharply from off to full and back several times and the pressure came back - at least for now. I had a nice shower this morning and washed dishes and the lav taps work. Maybe I knocked the debris out of the valve, or maybe it’s going to take a complete dump in the next few days. We get home on the 1st or 2nd.

Our issue was with all taps, so most likely the check valve. Knock wood, it seems to be working again at full pressure - for now. I think we need to get one of those prefilter apparatus set-ups so we don’t let hard water and sediment get into the system in the first place. Living in AZ and occasionally using the coach as a mobile casita for guests and/or escape pod (I will NEVER live in the house during remodeling, EVER again!), we have put some hard water into the tank.

Well, having just tried to take a shower - it’s KIND of working. Pressure is less than half what it should be. Grrr ...

I had narrowed it down to that being the most likely possibility by more internet searching, while waiting on the good advice to come in. Y chromosome part of the team banged on the pipes in the water bay. It’s working again, for now. Will get serviced when we get home. Thanks!